How to run a low magic fantasy game?

[Toben the Many]

If you're already using d20 Modern, that will do nicely. Casters don't start casting spells until about 4th level. And even then, the spell list is quite limited. What balances this out is that in a low-magic setting, there aren't alot of safeguards against magic. So a simple invisiblity spell become very powerful, because people aren't thinking about guarding against invisibility or even see that as a possibility. A spell such as disguise self is really powerful as well, because people aren't expecting someone to walk around with magical disguises.

 

[Machiavelli]

This question is slghtly off-topic, but where could I find an Armor as Damage Conversion write-up?

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Try House Rules, unless you have search function you'll have to dig for them.

 

[Balgus]

I liked Midnight Campaign setting. It did away with wizards, clerics and sorcs. It did bump up the other classes to make up for the lack of healing....

Gimpified the Druids too....

 

[Crothian]

As one can see it all depends on how one defines low magic. There are many ways to do it but first I suggest really defining what you mean by low magic.

 

[Warren Okuma]

[nitpick] Isn't the Grey Mouser also a wizard, or at least have some magical training? [/nitpick]

Yes. And lots of magical type creatures. Grey Mouser is not low magic.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Crothian is correct of course, in that "low magic" means different things to different people.

But sure, I can throw some names of games or supplements around, I guess:

A Game of Thrones (you did use the phrase "think Song of Ice and Fire", after all)
Artesia (nicely put together, and very cool - but not d20, if that matters)
Legends of Sorcery (this one allows easy customisation of magic to pretty much whatever level you want, in combination with standard d20 fantasy rules. . . if desired).

As previously mentioned, a fair few people use Iron Heroes, Grim Tales or Conan OGL for low magic d20.

Also as mentioned, True20 can do this. . . as it can do virtually anything. I recommend checking it out, for fantasy, S&S, modern, horror, sci-fi. . . whatever the genre, really. My bias here is that I'm currently running True20 and loving it, so please forgive my slight fanboyishness.


I'm another crazy person who's used (heavily) house-ruled D&D 3.5 for "low magic" campaigns - it's a lot of work, but yes, it can be done. I'm not sure if I would suggest doing this though, unless you love D&D 3e, and love the "low magic" thing, to the extent that you won't give up on either of them too readily.

 

[Mokona]

I suggest really defining what you mean by low magic.

Please let me know if these examples help define what I intend by low magic...

Use of big, flashy spells is rare for PCs and NPCs (once or twice in a campaign).

Magic items are few in number, powerful, and each is unique.

Magical effects (including items and spells) can't be and don't need to be purchased from salesmen.

A single spell or spellcaster isn't able to wipe out hordes of soldiers in one round.

Magic is approached as mysterious and requires a process of individual discovery.

PC spellcasters treat their magic ability as precious and special (not as a commodity).

Supernatural monsters are prevalent (though not the most common opponent).

Did I miss any common themes or fail to answer any obvious questions about low magic?

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Did I miss any common themes or fail to answer any obvious questions about low magic?

Black Company hits 1,2,3, and 6, as does Grim Tales. Although at a certain point a really high level spellcaster will be able to wipe out hordes of mooks, which contradicts 4. Point 5 is more up to the DM than any given system, really -- if the players have the book, they're going to know what is possible. That's why in Grim Tales the DM is encouraged/required to insert spells into the game deliberately -- there are no 'spell lists'. Point 7 is also more up to the DM, I would think, although most games have rules for supernatural critters and/or can use existing monster supplements.

 

[Mokona]

I've always used 3rd edition (and now v.3.5) Dungeons & Dragons for my low magic games. I like the simplification provided by D&D (compared with GURPS and more realistic systems). It takes some work to modify the current D&D rules so they're less magic-powerful and I've pushed some of the effort onto my players in terms of their roleplaying. My players do a good job but I have to watch out for things like DR or certain special abilities on iconic monsters I pull from the Monster Manual(s).

As I said above, I'm running an experiment with D20 Modern rules and it's working ok. Unfortunately there aren't great rules for D20 Modern in a fantasy setting because Wizards of the Coast wants/expects you'll use their flagship game. I put almost as much time figuring out character classes, weapon/armor proficiencies, and skills mapping from modern to fantasy as I was spending converting D&D to low magic.

What about the Wheel of Time RPG? Has anyone used that for low magic?